Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Media release: CaveSpringElementary School has been honored by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) in the annual Single Statewide Accountability System (SSAS) awards announced by Gov. Nathan Deal. Cave Spring Elementary won a Platinum award in the Greatest Gains category based on performance on state curriculum exams and Adequate Yearly Progress status.

"Cave Spring's performance demonstrates a commitment by the administrators, teachers, students, parents and community to strive for continuous improvement at a school where performance is already at a very high level," said Dr. Lynn Plunkett, superintendent of Floyd County Schools. "It is one thing to make great gains when you have much room for improvement but it is quite another to post these gains in a school with traditionally strong academic success."

Under the Single Statewide Accountability System, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement awards schools that show excellence in student achievement and/or progress in student achievement. Award-winning schools must meet designated criteria, based on the results of the most recent two years of Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) (grades 3-8 in reading, English/language arts, math, social studies, and science) and/or the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) (grade 11 first time test takers - English/language arts, math, science, and social studies). Both the CRCT and the GHSGT classify achievement in terms of the percent of students who a) do not meet standards, b) meet standards, and c) exceed standards. A Platinum school must meet AYP Criteria for three consecutive years, have greater than 35 percent of students exceeding standards, and be in the 98th percentile of greatest gains.

Cave Spring made significant gains in moving student from meeting to exceeding standards on the CRCT in 2011. In third-grade reading, the school had all students meet the standard and more than doubled the number of students exceeding the standard as that percentage rose from 24 percent in 2010 to 48 percent in 2011. The school increased the percentage of students exceeding in all subjects but saw other significant gains in math (36 percent exceeding in 2010 to 50 percent in 2011) and science (31 percent exceeding in 2010 to 57 percent in 2011). Similar increases of moving students from meeting to exceeding the standard were made in fourth-grade as all subject areas reflected the increase in student academic performance: math (5 percent exceeding in 2010 to 27 percent in 2011), science (30 percent in 2010 to 45 percent in 2011), reading (18 percent to 30 percent), English/language Arts (23 percent to 30 percent) and social studies (13 percent to 18 percent). In fifth-grade, similar impressive results were seen in moving students to the exceeding category of the CRCT: reading (1 percent to 26 percent), English/language Arts (20 percent to 38 percent), math (1 percent to 46 percent), social studies (7 percent to 20 percent) and science (34 percent to 37 percent).

The SSAS awards were announced as part of the release of the annual K-12 Public Schools Scoreboard and Report Card on the Governor's Office of Student Achievement website. Cave Spring and the other recognized schools will receive a congratulatory letter announcing their accomplishment. The schools are awarded on four levels -- Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The Governor's Office of Student Achievement Report Card was developed by GOSA and provides bottom-line data for Georgia's preschools, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, technical colleges, and educator licensing and accreditation. It includes school, system, and state level reports organized into seven major sections: Accountability, Georgia Tests, National Tests, Indicators, Student and School Demographics, Personnel and Fiscal, and Comparisons. To learn more about the Governor's Office of Student Achievement, please visit www.gaosa.org.